Barring any unforseen roster moves, the Clippers' depth chart for the 2008-09 season has settled into focus:

PG

Baron Davis

Jason Williams

Jason Hart

Mike Taylor*

SG

Cuttino Mobley

Eric Gordon

SF

Al Thornton

Ricky Davis

Steve Novak

PF

Marcus Camby

Tim Thomas

C

Chris Kaman

Brian Skinner

DeAndre Jordan

*Make-good deal.**Steve Novak slotted as a 3/4 because, well...his skill set is essentially that of a small forward.

Imagine you asked an informed Clipper fan in June 2006 to tell you what kind of offensive scheme the Clips would be running in the fall of 2008. Following the playoff run that season, the thought was that, going forward, the Clips would be a post-oriented offense with two capable big men [Elton Brand, Chris Kaman] propelled by a dynamic point guard [Shaun Livingston]. They'd need to add a proficient shooter on the wing -- preferably one who could play some defense -- to replace the departing Corey Maggette. But the bulk of the offense would originate on the block, precipitated by Shaun Livingston's ability to penetrate.

Fast forward two years, and the landscape couldn't be less familiar. The Clippers are an entirely new collection of players. Of the anticipated offensive lynchpins, only Kaman remains. He's flanked by a power forward who couldn't be more different than Elton Brand. Marcus Camby's center of gravity on the floor is at the elbow, and he generates most of his points as an ancillary offensive option. He's a nice complementary player for Chris, but his presence leaves all the heavy lifting on the low block for Chris.

Baron Davis is undoubtedly the focal point of the Clips' new offense. Davis' usage rate last season with Golden State was good for 17th in the league, and we can expect that number to climb this season. With Davis, Mike Dunleavy gets something he loves -- a big, physical guard that can post and defend -- and something he's never had in Los Angeles: An expert passer.

There are a ton of reasons to be excited about Davis' arrival, but none more decisive than that one. The Clippers haven't had a starter who can pass the ball with ease since Lamar Odom signed with Miami. Brand, Cassell, Maggette, Mobley, Kaman, Ross, Thomas, Thornton, etc, etc...all below-average passers at their positions. Livingston has a preternatural ability to find teammates, but, alas, if we're fortunate enough to see him do it, it will be in another uniform.

Davis' ability to pass the ball will benefit Al Thornton most profoundly -- both in transition and in the halfcourt. The bulk of Thornton's offense last season came in isolation and on late-in-the-clock perimeter attempts. The Clips never learned how to run an effective set for him. Now, Thornton has a lot to learn about working off the ball in an NBA offense. But a good passing PG can do a lot for an athletic wing. Chances are in a given set, the window of separation between Thornton and a defender is a nanosecond. Unless there's someone on the court who can find him, Thornton will instead get the ball with :04 seconds on the shot clock and a weak-side rotator coming at him. And that'sthe difference between an inefficient scorer who averages 15 PPG shooting below 42% on stuff that's manufactured instead of created -- and a potent SF who is getting most of his shot attempts against mismatches or finishing on the break.

This isn't to bury the lede: Davis will help the Clippers because he's a strong, lethal scoring guard with limitless range, and is certain to be their top PPG man. But for this new offense to operate proficiently -- for Marcus Camby to get that open 15-footer off the S/R, for Al Thornton to be mature as a wing scorer who can torment opponents not only in isolation, but in the context of a unified offense, for Chris Kaman to get the ball precisely where he likes it -- Baron Davis will have to orchestrate it.

Posted Wednesday, October 29 at 3:20PM

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I dont think Dunleavy will try to alienate his best player. EB and MD "had" a great relationship while EB was here. EB actually gave coach a lot of credit for pushing him to be better, which in effect got the coach a new contract after that 2006 playoff run and mad EB a legitimate all-star.

I think they'll be ok. It may take time for the team to gel, and injuries are always a concern with this franchise. But I for one am excited as hell of the prospect of a playoff contending team.

The Heat were horrible this year because Shaq did nothing for them, Wade was hurt and Riley bailed on them to scout prospects. They let R. Davis and Jason Williams walk because they needed a fresh start. Remember also that Williams was a key factor in Miami's championship run.

Another way to look at it: Memphis sucks, but it doesn't mean Mike Miller couldn't be a solid bench player on a winning team if given the chance.

I don't understand why everyone worries about Dunleavy getting along with BD. Am I missing something? When did he ever not get along with star players? He got along great with Brand and Cassell. He had Sheed in Portland. The only problem i recall in Portland was they had too many stars and not enough minutes. I don't remember Dunleavy ever having a Carlesimo incident.
So I'm not too worried about Dunleavy. He's a smart guy who knows where his bread is buttered. He'll adapt the offense to BD, just like he did for Brand.

When Dunleavy adapts to something it will be for the first time in his life. When has the Dunce not gotten along with star players? You cannot be serious. The Dunce's syncophant notwithstanding, it's hard to imagine anyone thinking that the Dunce could adapt to a change in weather, let alone change his 70's playbook.

HP..Dunleavy likes his half-court game while BD likes to rev it up. Its a clash of styles everyone is concerned about, and if the styles don't meet to form a cohesive unit, it may turn ugly..if they cannot get on the same page.

I'm sure that everyone will come to camp willing to adhere to the script, but if the team starts losing, this is when things will turn bleak.

Up until now, Dunleavy has called every single offensive play. When you are a running team, this is not the case as you take what the opponent gives you, and you adapt from there. Its the adapting part that has most of us concerned as the dunce has shown us little to no capacity to adapt on the fly during a game, or game to game for that matter.

Dunleavy has been fired from everywhere he's been (Portland/Lakers/Milwaukee) mostly cause his teams under-achieved and he lost control of the Players, especially in Portland. Those teams has championship level talent every year he was there, and he couldn't get it done.

Had he not had these tendencies year after year, I would be a 'giddy' as ACD. Cause this is the case, I am cautiously optimistic for the Clips 2008-2009 season.

every coach gets fired eventually... and even if you have "championship level talent", you dont always win.

NOBODY was beating the Bulls in the 90's and NOBODY was beating the Lakers in the early 2000's. Ya they had a bad collapse, but he got them there. Does that make him a horrible coach?

Sam Cassell or ANY of you never had a problem in 2006 with the coach's supposed over-play-calling.

As for getting along with stars...who else besides Maggette did coach not get along with? Besides, Maggette was our 2nd best player, but he masqueraded as a "star" while he is and always will be a 3rd tier player who will NEVER sniff an all-star game.

Nelly didn't get along with Barron Davis and benched him in that elimination game. It's apples and oranges, but BD didn't get along with his last coach, so there's cause for concern. I think it will probably be ok for the first year.

Preseason schedule just announced. We will be playing the Lakers first (seems to be common theme there). The first game is OCT 9th. There is a chance that we could be playing FC Barcelona.
Here is the link for the complete preseason schedule. http://www.nba.com/clippers...

I would bet you ACD that anyone that played on those Portland teams would say that they should have beat the Lakers that year. They were up double digits with 8 mins to play and collapsed like a house of cards.

Obviously, Dunleavy didn't get along with EB that well either cause if they did, he wouldn't have jobbed MD and the Clips like he did. The way that went down showed no respect for the Clips or MD. I know business is business, but the way MD said this went down didn't show much respect.

The Clips had their shot in 05-06 and lost to a PHX team with 6 damn players, including one T2. Thats just embarrassing, but the problem is the front office as well as way too many people here think thats within reach again under MD.

All the MO the Clips had after that season is long gone, and the Clips had to start over from scratch this off-season.

Ya I like the fact that the backcourt this year is not any combination of Knight/Dickau and Ross, but at the same time am having a hard time seeing how MD is gonna mold this group into a winner

By the way, i dont think it was dunleavy's relationship with EB that chased him out of town. Brand never badmouthed MD when he left... maybe the real story will come out during the season.

Let's quickly re-visit the suns series in 06... the suns were the #2 seed in the powerful western conference. They had 54 wins... they had the MVP, they had homecourt advantage. they had 6 damn good players that year. We both know how good that Clippers team was, but they were still huge underdogs.

And yes i agree that portland had as good a shot at any at beating the lakers...and that game 7 was brutal for them... But i dont ever hear anyone from portland blame the coach for that loss. The Lakers played out of their mind in that 4th quarter...and the Blazers missed countless easy layps and chippies that could have stopped the bleeeding.. At some point, the coach is not to blame.

In the end, they lost to the eventual 3-time champions... "That's no duck walk" Tony Montana

Regardless of whether or not the Clips make the playoffs this season, I think that they will be much better and more entertaining than last year.

They will win more than 23 games and here is my vision of things....

B.Davis pushes the ball alongside AL and Mobley or who ever is on the floor, or he will find Kaman inside. Picking when to run and when to settle down. I am sure he will be able to spot a mis match and get the ball there.

B.Davis takes 15 shots per game
averages 20 ppg 9 assists.

Mobley has a mediocre year averages 13.5 ppg and improves his 3 pt %.

Thornton shows that he is better than the guys picked ahead of him and averages 18.5 ppg while being the high scorer on many nights.

Camby doesnt help too much in the scoring dept. but does helps win some games from a defensive stand point.

Kaman averages 17, 11, 2.5 and has a solid all around season.

Gordon has some great games and some bad games but does help the Clippers coming off the bench. And he has a career night against the Laker bench on opening night.

Dunleavy will produce this season other wise he will be kicked to the curb.

ACD, Phoenix had 6 guys in uniform. That's 5 starters and 1 bench player. If MD couldn't figure out a way to beat them after their brutal series with the Lakers, he aint worth a shit as a coach. When you have such an advantage and cannot exploit it, you aren't very good at your job, period.

Regarding Portland, that was a long time ago but I bet you that if you tracked down any one of their top ten players and they would tell you that it was their series to lose, and they did.

Look dude, my point is when things like this repeatedly happen to MD, its not coincidence anymore..it a pattern.

The only reason he's still employed is he works for the fucking Clippers, the only team thats had less success than hes had. I guess its a match made in heaven with a bunch of damn losers. Sometimes I wonder why I still cut that check, and show up at Staples for Clipper games with them being the absolute farse that they are

I like the 2nd squad but they need a big man who is more athletic because williams, gordon, and davis could run transition pretty well but I don't see thomas or skinner doing that, possibly Jordan.

I agree with the Thorton stuff this guy is AMAZING! With corey out of the way he will be able to spread his wings now and rack up the points.

This new team has adapted well to the teams in the west, who are bigger and play better defense. Kaman and Camby can lock down some of the bigger scoring threats around the league like Duncan and Stoudamire. Chris Paul and Derron Williams are gonna hurt you on any given night but davis is too big to be overrun by Williams and too crafty to be outsmarted by Paul. Mobley can play some great perimeter D and Thorton is a way underrated defender with his long wingspan and quick feet. If we can't outscore everyone we will sure be able to defend well against them and I know MD knows that.

Kaman, Thorton and Davis are all really well rounded players that can score over 20 a night, but I feel the weight is gonna be on Camby, Mobley, Gordon, and Davis to step up and play good supportive rolls. We can make the playoffs if these guys step up their games.

My bro used to say he didn't mind going to the game as long is we had a chance to win. Obviously last year that was not the case. With the talent we have this year we should always have a chance to win.

tw-- your conclusions are only as good as your assumptions. you've been using the "6 players" argument forever...

regardless, the suns were the #2 seed, had the home court advantage, had the MVP of the league, and 2 all-stars to the Clippers one. Suns were favored. Could the clips have beat them? sure. But they weren't supposed to beat them. so get off it!

I wouldn't expect Gordont to contribute much in his rookie season, the guy is only 19. It' very rare for a player of his age to contribute.

I think Kaman and Baron's health are the key to the team. We all believe Thorton will continue to improve and average around 18-20, Camby will be a league leader in blocks and rebounds, and mobley will get 13-15 a night.

But if Kaman can be a consistent low post threat and Baron can stay healthy we will definitely contend for an 7 or 8 seed. Baron, is one of the elite players in this league that can put a team on his back when healthy. I like our chances of making the playoffs, I have never seen a clipper team with this kind of veteran presence.

ACD, kirbs... It seems like so many people are happy just to make the playoffs. 'Almost beating the Suns in the 2nd round' is a like winning the superbowl to you.

For the price I'm paying for the tickets, I want to win now. And like the above poster said Gordon is 19 and won't/shouldn't get much PT. Trade him for someone good so they can compete, or lower the ticket prices. Celtics traded their draft pick last year and look where it got them.

FireDunleavy.com wrote:
ACD, kirbs... It seems like so many people are happy just to make the playoffs. 'Almost beating the Suns in the 2nd round' is a like winning the superbowl to you.

FD show me once where I have ever said that I'm happy just to make the playoffs, don't waste your time looking because I've never said it. You just asume it. My point was to correct tw's incorrect information with facts.

as far as being happy just to make the playoffs....
we may not get to bang the hottest girl in class (win the championship) but at least we can get in the game and get some action from a chick that's hot enough that we're not embarrased to be seen with her (the 8 seed or better) as opposed to being the geek kid with no game whatsoever (uh...last year).

so, for me, i would be thrilled just to get some (make the playoffs) this year.

James Jones played about 8-10 mins a game as the 7th man in a couple games. The other 6 that I referred to played the bulk of the minutes, and one of them was T2..one of the most worthless players ever. The Suns were beat up after that Laker series. Nashs back was jacked and Marion was hurt too. The Suns beat us with T2 and Raja Bell. D'Antoni kicked Dunleavys ass, and that's why they won the series.

Whatever, it makes no difference to me. Dunleavy is a loser and frankly so are most of you Clipper pacifists. You can have your shitty team the way you want it.. a perennial loser.

Wow sut the fuck up already you're acting like the clips have EVER been good and the 1 time we make it to the playoffs you can't shut the fuck up and enjoy it. The clippers ARE a perennial loser and they most likley always will be (under dts) is that a fucking suprise to to you ? Are you so stupid that you can't realize countless losing seasons "is not a coincidence, its a pattern" Do you think the losing is suddenly going to stop because of mike dunleavys absence, the one coach who actually won us a playoff series since the 70s ? And you think getting to the playoffs but not winning a ring is a failure ? Are you saying getting to the finals but losing is the same as winning 15 games? No one here takes you seriously. You're not being pessemistic or "realistic" you're just being a dick. I can just imagine you at a clippers game sulking at every game wondering why the clippers can't just win a fucking championship for once. And if you didn't see, tim thomas actually played well for the suns in the playoffs. Meaning he made his threes.

I guess the only thing that can be said about Dunleavy is that this year will test his coaching ability. He essentially assembled this run and gun team so he can't say he inherited it. If we see a slow half court team, then the naysayers are right. I still don't believe that it was his fault that he had a below average passing team. If you recall the clippers with Livingston were a pretty exciting team to watch.
As far as the Maggette feud, I thought Dunleavy was actually trying to help Maggette by making him into another Ginobili/sixth man stud. But I admit Dunleavy would end up keeping Mags on the bench longer than he probably should have.

Isnt Dunleavy's contract expire in 2010?
Maybe he will also be in a contract year and having that in mind, he will be coach of the year or something.

What is the Clippers' record since he signed on?

As long as this team can compete every night and the fans get their moneys worth, then that would be fair.

Last summer people were saying that the Celtics would need to gel and that chemistry might be an issue. I am not saying the Clippers will go from zero to hero this year but we really dont know until the season starts.

In that 05-06 season that LA made their run, Houston and Utah had injuries and both of those teams were at the bottom of the west. If the Clips could have made the playoffs in 06-07, there would be more respect available for them after a 23 win season.

At the end of the day it just seems that this Clipper organiztion has dug themselfs a giant hole and I do respect the fact that they have started to pull out of it recently.

umma call him Stunce from now on. The perfect hybrid of stupid and dunce, pronounced "stunts" for all the stupid shit and drama he creates and the uses as the excuse for not winning. Stunce Sr. Leading your team to another 20-62 season

That's right Petey Pablo, as long as the fans get their money's worth.
If the Clippers are out of the Playoffs by the all star break, section 100 tickets are scapled for $5 outside. Season ticket holders get screwed.
There are so many question marks going into this season.

OK, this board has gotten WAY too pessimistic over the past two weeks or so. What's the deal? I don't love the Ricky Davis sighing, but some of the other moves have been inspired (Camby, Skinner and ditching Knight for Hart). Clearly we have a much better team than last year.

The Clips should be at least .500 and possibly more competitive than that. Will we make the playoffs? It's tough for sure, but we have a much better chance than we did last year with Elton down and Cassell on his last legs.

Plus, I'll live with the fact I still think the Sixers aren't gonna make the playoffs in the east this year. ATL won't fall out of the mix and Miami, Charlotte and Milwaukee all got much better (and I'm sure some Knick fans believe they can compete now too). Anyone know when individual tickets go on sale? Can't wait until 12/31...

I am a clipper fan and have recently started visting this site and I am sick of the haters on here who are not clipper fans. I am okay with criticizm but most of these negative posts are just ridiculous. Most of you probaly couldnt even make a layup and probaly never even played ball in your life go watch your lakers and leave.
OUT

I think the main thing is, after such a dismal season last year, we have a lot to look forward to this year.

If we're healthy and things still aren't going well, I would imagine Dunleavy has to be fired. We saw a glimpse of Sterling's impatience last year.

As for Portland's improbable collapse in game 5 v.s. the Lakers. I don't know how much you can blame Dunleavy. He had his players in position to win, but the lakers got lucky (brian shaw's bank 3-pointer), and portland just choked. You knew it was over after game 5.

Thanks for the link.
They're definitely more positive than this board. But maybe all the negativity on this board is tough love?
I agree it's Dunleavy's year to put up or shut up. After losing out on Udrih and Mike Miller, Sterling has had enough of Dunleavy's we could have had this player and that player if management would have listened to me.
I only hope Mike hasn't strayed too much from his basic philosophy. Defense wins championships. Just look at the Spurs and even last year's Celtics.
When the Spurs were winning championships, no one complained about their half court offense.

ACD....Phil Jackson's never been fired. Well, in at least the 20 years ive seen him in the league. He's always come and gone at just the right time.

Jerry Sloan hasn't been fired. More teams should run their shop like Utah. Seriously. Get a good coach and make him God. Sometimes players get way too much power and forget they signed to a team, I love the oldskool flavor Utah brings to the league.

Pop...can't remember Pop getting fired. It might have happened long long ago in like a Star Wars galaxy far far away, but he's earned the respect to go out on his own terms.

Rudy T didnt get fired either. He stepped down both times from what I remember. Houston wanted to keep him but his cancer made him leave prematurely.

I'm sure theres more but im just spouting off the top of my head here.

I think he meant that people shouldn't criticize players when they themselves can't play for squat. I, on the other hand, expect the players to be playing at a high caliber, so I think that leaves room to criticize when a player is obviously underachieving... but this is an entirely different subject.

Actually I had season tickets last season in section 209 behind the basket with my bro, what about u have u ever even left your computer to go to a game. i am guessing u r one of those people who like to talk alot of shit to people online by your comments but u r probaly a little punk. if u think it makes u sound tough or cool to say some racist stuff like that go ahead, i will be at staples next season and if u want i am usually around the metro

Cmon guys! let's all get along! I mean I wanted to see Sabonis win a championship as much as the next guy but we need to move on from this tragedy. and no if u can't make a FUCKING LAYUP you can't watch basketball or be critical of anything basketball related that should be obvious. no one thinks you are cute bongstradamus "in like a Star Wars galaxy far far away" go have mommy make you a hot pocket or something and go lick pop's pockmarked ugly ass face.

I can usually stomach FD's negativity, but no need for racist bullshit on here. Seriously, how much more ignorant can you get? Imran, don't worry about him; when he's not bashing Dunleavy he's screaming for Sofo to come over, and we just saw exactly how that overweight lug fares against NBA competition. It's obvious he really doesn't know jack about basketball.

Just heard on espn that Brandon Roy had knee surgery. He might not be back on time to start the season, I wish him well and a nice recovery. On the other hand I think it will help the Clippers if Portland Loses a few extra games and potentially fall out of the playoff race early.

SOFO ! HAHAHAHAHAHAAA That was hilarious to watch. I dont care enough to go back into the old posts and read the praises that were sung about this guy last week.

He was easily the worst player on the court today. Ya, he had some flashes 2 years ago, but that was 150 lbs ago too. You think giving him a $5 million dollar contract to come to Los Angeles of all places is going to fix his motivational problem?

He was a 2nd round pick we took a chance on... had nothing to lose. LET IT GO! Let the fatass lose 150 lbs, then talk about bringing him over. Dont do it on my time. This team is contending NOW. NO more projects, youth learning on the job or stopgap point guards.

Sofo had to guard Carmello and Lebron, how's he going to do that without getting in foul trouble. He can only be used in the right situations. Kamen looked like the worst player on the court against Greece. It's just 1 game. And I thought the buyout was 500k not 5mil for Sofo.

And to add to that...why would we want Turiaf? Him and Powell have similar games except Powell is way cheaper. Although it sucks to see him go to the other team, we apparently didnt want him back, cuz you know we had the chance.

if u didnt mean anything by it cool, i am not going to crazy fighting with someone on a blog, as for kaman looking bad the germans have awful guard play which hinders kaman and dirks game dramatically
OUT

Did FD even watch the actual game? Sofo was guarding Bosh the few minutes he was in, and most of his fouls were on sloppy offensive fouls he got by aimlessly charging into the lane with no control. He also got a few when he was too slow to rotate on Wade and just hacked him. There's a REASON why he gets no burn from his own team, he plays out of control, is out of shape, is a foul machine and doesn't offer much more than a huge wide load to bang around the post for 7 mins a game.

I watched the entire Team U.S.A./Greece game and beyond the fact that it one again proved LeBron James is hands down the best player in the world (sorry Kobe), it also showed that Sofo is the second coming of Robert Tractor Traylor. He's a big body who is FAT (not muscular) and is SLOW. His best move is cutting to the basket for a layup. That's not a defining move, that's a basketball fundamental. And I don't remember him once getting back on D in time. He's extremely overrated and, if seeing is believing, certainly not motivated to get himself in shape to play in the NBA.

I'm not saying sofo is an nba allstar, but he didn't look that bad. For sure not as bad as Kamen looked against Greece (I'm not saying he's better than Kamen either). Greece would at will just take the ball away from Kamen.

I know he needs to get into better shape, but he's working on it. On defense, the us was blowing by the Greek guards, what's Sofo supposed to do. I doubt buying out Sofo's contract goes against the Salary cap, so why not get him over here. If they still had Brand or another good PF, I would agree they don't need him.
And if you want to go over Sofo's fouls:
5 people falling on the floor for a loose ball, faul on cp3.

A questionable charging foul the greek coach was upset about. Guy probably would have been in the perimeter in the NBA.

A foul on bosh, who he left along to help out on wade, sorta backed into it.

A foul away from the ball trying to get postion Bosh who flopped.

Next time sofo enters the game US is up by 20
A foul Dwanye Wade making a great move going to the basket.

What? I like this years draft picks. I'm not scout, but I think they did a great job. I'd give them an A. I just don't they're they're going to contribute much this or next year.

I think the Clippers are 1 star player away from having the talent to contend in the West. That's why I'd trade Gordon, a future pick, TT, mobley... for someone like Artest.

Kaman(happy now) lost the ball on the dribble and just about every time he touched it, didn't see the constant tripple teaming into submission. And are you not allowed to pass, if he ws tripple teamed? I'm just saying having 1 bad day isn't the end of the world. I saw in Sofo a big body, almost twice the size of anyone else. He can set good screens, pick and roll and create match up problems.

I don't want a 50-50 chance that my ticket value will be $5 for section 100 seats again this year. Unless the Clippers are in the top 8, people in LA don't want to go to the games.

My friend once bought 2 tickets in the vip range (normally 120 each)for $30. It was a regular season game against the hornets, and it was already 2nd qtr. The guy selling them looked kinda home less. I always wondered where he might have got them?

i was at Gelsons today, and when I left a homeless guy was asking for money, and I gave him a dollar because he had on a Clippers hat! If it had been a Lakers hat I would've laughed and said, "ha, you're homeless"

Your friend got ripped off. 10 min after the game started I got $100-$130 tickets for $5 each. I did for around 5 games last year when another person wanted to come to the game. The Clippers always have a paid attendance of at least 16k, but you can see in the stands that there's only 8-10k.

its like that with all teams when they suck... in 2006 people were sucking my balls wanting to go to the playoff games... i made a killing on ebay with my extra tickets... helped pay for my 2007 tickets

I don't get it why would people buy tickets and not go ? Unless you're and idiot you knew they were going to be horrible last year. Is there the same guy who stands outside of staples and sells them every night ? I

Anyone want to split season tickets a few ways? I can only spend about $350 - $500 but would really like to got to ...i dunno, about 12 games. I figure if there are 3 or 4 of us splitting the tickets we can get fairly good seats w/o blowing all of our money. Anyone interested? if so, please post OR email "ijamalbrown@gmail.com" !

acd - you didn't make a killing on the Boston and Lakers games?? I made a super killing on those games.. Especially the east coast teams last year.. But the west coast teams, i didn't do too well...

andrew - we are season ticket holders.. 1st and foremost we are CLIPPER fans.. and we do go to the games.. but its sometime hard to go to every single game.. especially when there is like 3 games a week. that is tough on the family, and as a family we do have other things to do.

So with that said.. I usually post my tickets on clippers.com or stubhub and try to make some money or atleast get my money back.. if those tickets don't sell, I usually go to those games. If there is a particular game that I want to go, I make sure I go to those games. But like I said.. going to 3 games a week, or a back to back game.

Corporations, ticket brokers... buy tickets have have commitments to buy a certain amount of tickets from the clippers. They couldn't move the tickets cus no one wanted to go. I couldn't even give tickets away when I couldn't make it. Splitting season tickets like the guy above is talking about is the way to go. Only problem is who gets to go to the playoff games.

Boring times in the nba. Most of the dust has settled. If it wasn't for team usa, I'd really be hurting for bball. We need some kind of countdown. Like xxx days until training camp. Xxx days till home opener. Etc.

Anybody remember John Williams, who ate himself from star player to out of the league?... Or Shawn Kemp?

Sofo hasn't even been in the league yet and he's already eaten himself out of it... Add to that, he's young, so his metabolism will only get worse...

If the guy wants to play in the NBA, he has it in his power to get here. Hell, it's been four years since he was drafted and he hasn't lost a gram... All he has to do is get in shape and he can play in the NBA. Since he's obviously incapable or unwilling to do that, even though it could mean millions to him, let him stay over in Greece... We don't want players who aren't committed to excellence and, fortunately, we no longer NEED them.

Let him stay over in Greece until he proves his desire to play over here by skipping just one meal...

Chris Kaman blew major chunks this olympics. His nickname should be "Wince" because you cringed every time you saw him try to catch a pass in the paint. When they played Spain there were 5 turnovers in the first quarter for Germany. It was pretty ugly.

Andrew Bogut showed he might be worth a little more than he got paid this summer with the way Australia plays. You can see the joy he is having playing for his country, and it makes you wonder if hes more happy playing in these olympics than he is for the Bucks. Australia had a legit team on the court and Bogut was the one leading and making them better. Their playing surprised me the most and gave me a whole new appreciation of Bogut.

Ricky Rubio is a Spanish porn star thats going to make an army of small white kids play basketball all over the world. He's also going to make me watch cheap Spanish porn until he's drafted in the NBA to make the big budget movies. He's got the mind of Jason Kidd in a 17 year old body.

Wang Zhi Zhi. Poor Wang. He still just doesnt get it. Sure he hit some 3's, but oh man, he sure missed a lot of them too. Wide open guys and no ball movement but terrible shots. Surprised he ever got over here in the first place.

Sun Yue. He's not sexy like Rubio, but at 6'9" with his handle, yes, I can see why they call him the Chinese "Magic". The Lakers could be a lot of fun just watching Sun and Kobe. Kid is definitely talented.

Marc Gasol. Aint Pau for sure, but he's going to demand attention when he starts playing for Memphis. He's big and has moves and looks like theres a very high ceiling for improvement.

Sofo. All hype, but even more body fat. However he did seem to play better than Kaman did for Germany. Which really doesnt say all that much to be honest.

Dirk Nowitzki. Stud. Seriously, the guy is a stud. His hand is in the air for every shot, just the rest of his team is terrible. He worked hard, no matter the odds or the score. Deserves some respect.

Pau showed hes more of a winner than he gets credit for. That spanish team is tough, they are exciting to watch, and Pau is a big component of their success. But did you see how Kobe laid him out? I wonder what kind of chemistry they have as teammates because that didnt seem very friendly at all.

LeBron James is the best basketball player in the world. Better than his teammate Kobe, and better than Michael Jordan. He's played unselfishly, hes moved the ball around, he's shown leadership, and he's made Kobe look like the ball hog who doesnt trust his teammates we've all bitched for years that he is. LeBron and Dwyane are playing at a whole different level than the rest of Team USA.

Ah, another comment that Sofo played better than Kaman. Kamen also sucked in the summer league last year though.

A fat Shawn Kemp would still help the Clippers out for 10-15 min a game. Leaving him over there for another year to see if he can lose weight isn't that bad a call, but I think the Clippers need some more size.

HAHAHAHAHA. FD: "the clippers need some more size" ... (talking about Sofo)
Lebron better than Jordan? What a joke. The dude has played for what, 5 years? Hell Grant Hill was spectacular his first 5 years too... give me a break

Ya, Kaman didnt dominate, but i think it was good for him to go play some tough games. Maybe he'll come back with a chip on his shoulder. Besides, the guards on Germany's team are HORRIBLE... so Kaman didnt really get any space to work with. Wont be the same with the Clippers-- they have an all-nba type guard with a great wing and a rebounding machine for a F. He'll be fine

..lets go mets
(actually the mets are the clippers of NY. No matter what, the yankees will always be the lakers. Now, the mets have a richer tradition than the Clipps, with championships, great playoff runs, big collapses, hall of fame players, etc... but that doesnt mean the clipps cant get there... If perrenial losers like the TB bucks, NE Patriots, CHI white sox, ANEHEIM angels, etc can win it all...why cant we? (please dont say the coach sucks at this point-- it's too predictable.)

Wishful thinking is right. Kaman, for all his talent, is a headcase. This is not the scenario he needed. He played great in the exhibitions and early games and then started to fall apart as the tournament wore on.

Gee, that sounds an awful lot like last season right?

I've always been a big Kaman fan, but I'm starting to seriously have some doubts. If there is a way to move him for a legit power forward by the trading deadline, the team should consider it.

acd - the coach has been great and sad to say that firing willie was the move they needed to make. too bad downer sanchez had to go and shit his pants today. can't win them all.

yes, there is some similar experience being a mets and clips fan. but at least there was 86 and the tease of 2000 as opposed to....

for sure it's the same thing inside me that says both 'fk the yanks and fk the lakers' allthogh i've even gotten away from that hater mentality most of the time and i'm just concerned with 'my' teams going well.

i'm not counting kaman's olympic experience to be worth anything. i like what he had to say in the last espn story and think his head and skills will be just fine come october.

You havent been watching these games then, because LeBron is blocking, stealing, dishing, dunking, boarding, bodying, screening and all around being a large part of the glue of this team. Its stunning to see how much his play outclasses Kobe when they are both on the court. And yes, theres some innate anti-Kobe bias, but its really true. He makes smarter decisions than Kobe or MJ did, has the same finishing ability, maybe even a better defensive game, more obvious physical strength, offensive awareness, passing ability and definitely makes the rest of the team better when hes on the court. He may not wow as much as MJ, but fundamentally his game is more sound and tuned to a finer degree across the board.

Carmelo and Kobe are the weakest links on the team, which is surprising. They havent fully jelled into the team thing like the rest of the guys. Really bad decision making on many plays and dumb TO's. Tayshaun and Chris Bosh and Carlos Boozer are all contributing much more quality minutes in comparison.

Deron and Chris Paul are starting to find some chemistry on the court, but you can sense its been tough for them to really coexist being the respective floor leaders of their own teams. CP3 especially looked like he felt a little left out the first couple of matches. I like that they are playing both of them on the court at the same time.

And Dwyane Wade, good lord. I cannot wait till Basketball season because D-Wade is back and putting himself in the Top 5 players of the game. Seeing him during these games has made me remember just how fun he is to watch.

honey bunny... i have been watching the games... just because Lebron is more important to THIS team, doesnt make him the best player on the planet... Example: Chris Bosh aint no Kevin GArnett.

Lebron is a spectacular talent... but how can you say he's more well-rounded than Jordan? Makes smarter decisions? Better defensive game? He's not winning a defensive player of the year award like MJ did... Kobe's been 1st team all defense 17 times. I think he's MORE wow than MJ.... but he's not at that level yet... GREAT, GREAT player, but he's only been around 5 years. He does everything amzingly well but hasnt shown the ability to shoot the ball as well as Kobe or MJ have... granted he's much younger.

but stop... let him play 5 more years.. .make a couple of all-defensive teams... be an integral part of at least 1 championship...and then we could talk

SOME MORE SOFO TIDBITS:
Want fries with that? Greek center Sofoklis Schortsanitis, whose draft rights are owned by the Clippers, is down to about 320 pounds after being up to about 400. "Baby Shaq" reportedly took a leave from playing for Olympiakos in January to go to a weight loss hospital in Switzerland. Legend has it that Schortsanitis once ate 100 McNuggets in one sitting.

Bongstradamus you have to realize that even though Lebron is playing great right now, he is playing against mostly non NBA level players. MJ played like this too but he was playing against much better players. Until Lebron can prove that he can do this in the NBA and not to mention win a couple of championships he will not be as good as MJ.

Exactly ACD, he's losing weight, not gaining. He had a melt down or something, but that past him I hope.

There was also a report he was gaining weight on purpose so he could get out of his contract with the Olympiakos.

Kaman plays a little soft for his size, but more importantly, he has missed a lot of games due to injury. Camby and DeAndre Jordan are not much bigger than Mikki Moore. Then you have TT and that guy from houston who play PF from the 3 pt line. Clippers need an enforcer.

paul davis is horrible. i guess he's okay for a 14th or 15th man. I like the kid, he plays hard, just doesnt have the quickness or strenght to make an impact. He's built like a horse (complement)-- he has Yao-like legs but just gets outworked all the time. Nice jumpshot doesnt hurt...

Ok, we can say its still questionable about LeBron being better than MJ, but clearly he is the best NBA player dressing up in the league.

And there is a chasm of difference between Chris Bosh and Kevin Garnett I will also admit. Chris Bosh finishes, and Kevin Garnett doesnt. As much I love KG, he doesnt have the killer instinct. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce won the championship for Boston. KG was largely silent near the rim. Great on D, but totally a missing person when someone needed to power it to the hole.

Agreed... but I still think Kg lit a fire under all their asses to finally pony up and play defense. You cant measure that.

Put it this way... Elton Brand NEVER influenced his teams to play that hard... he never scolded anyone on the court... he never had the Sam Cassell leadership quality that KG has. "Lead by example" is a cute saying, but sometimes you have to lead by yelling at people.

I'm glad Germany got eliminated. No need for Kaman to take anymore risks in these Olympics. His impact may have been minimal but at least he was not hurt and played the minimum # of games possible. Let's pray that Rapist gets hurt soon.

ACD id agree with all except Yao and Dwight. I think those two can become leaders. They arent yet but I think they will mature to that point. TMac has been the thing holding Houston back from greatness IMO.

id also put Kobe in the Not Leaders category. He didnt get the lakers to the finals with a team of scrubs like LeBron, he had a legit big 3 last year and still couldnt close the deal. Then again, Boston shut his ass down by triple teaming him, but then again, if hes being tripled why isnt he hitting the 2 other open men? He forced way too many shots he shouldnt have taken and as a result he shot horribly and lost the series.

Id maybe add Mike Bibby and Ray Allen to that list of leaders. Atlantas playoff run after trading for Bibby and Ray taking over in the playoffs and winning for Boston and his prior experiences in Seattle and Milwaukee earn him a spot.

Paul Davis? meh, whatever. Its not like hes going to come out of nowhere and dominate the league.

Id play DeAndre as the 2nd unit PF. He was a lottery projected pick, give him minutes. Might as well let him develop instead of wasting minutes on ballsacks like Skinner or Davis who wont make a tit of difference next year.

Kaman's value is his contract... He's not going to get another one for a long time and he'll prove his worth over the next four seasons... Playing in the Olympics isn't going to hurt him, since he didn't get hurt.

It's also a touch way to judge a big man. A big man on a team without decent guards is a tough situation. If the defense doesn't have to cover the perimeter, there is no way for a big man to work... And Germany's guards were pathetic.

I wouldn't take his Olympic failure as being too significant. He'll be fine... Or at least he'll be Chris Kaman, kind of goofy, but okay.

The Clippers haven't had an enforcer for at least 10 years. Can you guys think of anyone who would knock down an opposing point guard who drove the lane too much? I can remember many games where the other team would be pouring it on and EB and Maggs just sit there helplessly looking like nursery school kids that were being picked on by 1st graders. I would always yell, "KNOCK HIM ON HIS ASS!". Rasual Butler shooting 3's when they were kicking the Clipper's ass by 20... teams doing 360 dunks when they're kicking the clippers' ass at staples? you need someone with some balls--- a charles oakley type who wont take that shit.

Eb was a nice guy, but what a fruitcake of an "enforcer". For all his grit and brute strength, the only time he stood up for a teammate is when he knocked Turiaf on his ass last year. Woooowww..

I havent seen Brian Skinner enough to say, and i know that Paul Davis is as soft and timid as they come....so who is going to knock tony parker on his ass when he drives the lane?

Can we get at least ONE suspension this year due to a fight? Fights are great for teams... great for the fans...great for the gelling of a team.

I think the first exhibition game, the Clippers should send Mike Talyor in to closeline someone! (relax fellas, i'm almost kidding)...

I've always liked the idea of an enforcer...just think back to all the championship teams of years past. They all had at least one (or often times, two or three) guy that wouldn't hesistate to knock the opposing player flat on his ass, without fail. The Clippers, albeit never being in contention of a championship, have always lacked an enforcer-type in recent years, and of course as a result, lost countless games because of it.

However, with the today's NBA rules, you can't have an effective enforcer just like the Bad Boy Pistons, or the Showtime Lakers, the pre-2008 Celtics, and the rest of them had.

I'm not 100% sold on the team being a contender, but I will say that I like this Clipper team because a lot of the guys that were brought in are bringing much needed attitude that we've sorely lacked for a long time. We hope that our new guys make other teams pay, by any means necessary.

I have to say though I'm not to pleased with our back-ups at the PF and C spots. DeAndre needs time he gets a pass, Skinner at PF I can take because he will be a defensive weapon only, P.Davis not sure I'm sold on him.

Believe the Clippers should have tried harder to get a better C for the money they had left.

We may not know what Shaq's tastes like (or really care to, for that matter), but we're about to find out what Sir Charles' looks like.

According to a report in the Philadelphia Daily News, former NBA star Charles Barkley has been asked to undergo a televised colonoscopy as part of a "Stand Up to Cancer" special being aired Sept. 5 by NBC, CBS and ABC.
Barkley, who will undergo the procedure Friday, said he was happy to help promote awareness for colonoscopies, which screen for prostate and other cancers.

He also said that when he told his friend Fred Lavner about being asked to participate in the special, Lavner replied they were "probably just looking for the celebrity with the biggest ass."

Sofo had an awesome game to shut us all up and lead Greece to a huge win over Argentina!!..oh wait, no he didn't. He rode the bunch cuz he's overweight and once again didn't contribute much. Man his performance in these OLYMPICS has made it obvious we NEED him over here asap.

stop with sofo already please... he's garbage.. he's a waste of a roster spot. he's got NOTHING to add to your team except more problems. Ya i'm sure if he were here he could contribute, but so can brian skinner type dudes who dont have to bought out of their contracts in europe, who dont have weight issues, and who speak english. there is no reason to entertain the thought. and that is exactly what the clippers are doing. forgetting about that fat stiff.

hmmmm Maggs was good that year... Thornton CAN be a better player if he gets there... but it's a push

You can not underestimate the value of good team chemistry as well...

with 10 new players, 2008 clippers have a lot of work to do....

And YES, FD, you can do that to every team in the west. I am assuming you are saying that every team in the west is better on paper today than it was in 2006? Is that what you're implying? Ask Dallas or Phoenix or Memphis or Sacramento or Denver what they think of that statement

What happened is drafting Koralev over Danny Granger caught up with them. What happened is drafting Livingston 4th overall and having his body betray him caught up with them. You can not miss in draft after draft and expect to stay competitive strictly through free agency. Hopefully we are back on track with Thornton and Gordon.

Do any of you people even watch basketball? SHEED TO THE CLIPS??????? All the analysis on this blog is shit. Lebron can't even make a jump shot consistently and there is no way he is the best in the nba, possibly the most athletic (there is a significant difference in case you didn't know). You all sound like a bunch of cry babies and need to sack up and get behind this team because who cares about winning when your fans blow so hard. I now am starting to realize why this team has such trouble winning with good players maybe its because there are so many phony fans in LA that couldn’t afford laker tickets and then somehow convinced themselves they were clipper fans. Nba players have become all about the paycheck and its no wonder with idiot fans who can’t even get behind a team and not criticize every little detail. Your commentary isn’t appreciated by anyone who doesn’t get there basketball information from sprite commercials so please quit with this charade, you give clipper fans a bad name with your stupidity.

Lebron could go overseas and maybe be the best in the euroleague until then everyone suck it.

clippafan, compare MJ's stats to LeBrons. LeBron clearly has a better overall game. He's 3.2% off from the paint, 3pts less a game carreer wise but there season wise. He also has a better 3 pt shot than MJ. He averages more assists. more blocks. more rebounds. more steals. he's flat out better, im sorry you cant comprehend simple math and basic projections.

And when did you become a Clipper fan? I flirted with them a little bit when Dominique Wilkins was playing. I'll admit though, I didnt fully jump on the bandwagon until Lamar got drafted and DA and Mo Taylor were the big scorers marking days on their calanders to get out of this stink hole. Then it got even more fun when we got Darius, Corey, Keyon and Quentin. I would say the only time this team had chemistry was for the handful of games they played for Dennis Johnson after firing Alvin Gentry.

I remember wanting us to pick Tyson Chandler, and then losing my mind when we traded him for Elton. When season tickets were buy 1 get 1 free. Ive been through almost a decade of losing. Of seeing great players just walk away. And then to top it all off, seeing Mike Dumbleavy given the reigns and alienating 2 of probably the best players we've ever had.

So yea the fans are jaded and bitter, to flirt with greatness and see the whole ball unwind before your very eyes. But its not the fans that make this place a losing hellhole, its the organization.

While we did a decent job putting these pieces back together after we dropped the EB-trophy, I am losing confidence in the orgaization at a rapid pace.

Why did we piss off Kaman and cause him to think the organization lied to him regarding his German adventure. Why are we not picking up Livingston on a 1-year contract when he apparantly is getting closer to play? Remember two season ago we wouldn't trade him for Kidd, and now we won't sign him for literally nothing???

I agree this is the BD era, but Livingston has infinitely more promise than Hart and J Will together. By February we need to do some trades and would have plenty of guards to trade for some firepower if all our guards were healthy. I don't get it???

i think we all neeed the season to start already!
i don't know how any clips fan can be upset with the club at this point (talking about now and not the past).

nothing's perfect. livi may turn into something somewhere else or even for us...who knows. the shit with CK....i'm sure the club just didn't want their starting center to get hurt...the nerve of them!
way i see it, there's nothing more to look at or criticize until we're a few weeks in to the season and can see if this shit is working.

Bongstradamus... MJ lead very skilled Bulls teams (Pippen, Rodman, Kerr, Kukoc, Armstrong) to multiple championships. LeBron has yet to do that in Cleveland with 14 "other" guys. I'm not saying he's overrated, but his stats are probably inflated because he's been playing on a pretty mediocre team. LeBron nonetheless is still most likely going to be the greatest SF of all time.

I think LeBron is more comparable to Magic more than MJ anyways. They could play all 5 positions, perfect court vision, etc.

This is exactly what I'm talking about the past is over, this team needs fans who actually support it and quit going on and on about the past bullshit. How fuckin easy is it to list the numerous fuck ups of this organization. I'll be the first to admit we've performed poorly most years and made countless horrible moves but it's just sad that when the team actually does try and get its shit together people are still never satisfied. Yes I'm grumpy I think any clipper fan is grumpy and that's putting it lightly and the times are changing but as far giving you a free ride and just patting you on the back I will call you a charlatan and tell you good day sir.

The LeBron and MJ comparisons are getting a little boring. I thought this was a Clipper Blog. If LeBron comes to the Clips in 2010, let's pick up that discussion again.

Livingston is a bust with potential. He had his shot and blew it. Maybe he makes a come back, maybe he doesn't. Bottom line is that he's a physical liability, was highly overrated, was not a good shooter, and lacked a LOT of confidence that was required for his position. Next topic!

All you MD bashers. Wake up a realize that there was never a "golden era" of Clipper basketball to yearn for. MD has gotten us a closer to such an era than any one else in Clipper history. He's brought better talent here than anyone else before him and 2010 is not too far away. Let's hope he's still with the Clippers at that time to keep the DTS purse strings loose.

ACD, I hear you on the comparison by position issue, but ultimately it's overall talent that helps win games. Let's try this comparison:

clippafan4life if you were responding to my post then realize I didn;t mention a single past flaw made by the organization. I simple pointed out that I thought letting Livingston go is a mistake (current mistake) and also the handling of the Kaman case appear to be mishandled due to the fact that he got pissed off and went away anyways. There are ways to explain to a player that you don't like he his decision to play at the Olympics without appearing as a "liar" (another current mistake).

I also wrote that I think the organization did a good job after the EB incident. Good news is it appears the organization now really wants to win and is doing everything in its power to accomplish that goal. My only question is whether they have the skills (at the GM level) to compliment their good intentions (owner level) and actually can get the job done (win)?

That was the first and only time I'll cheer for kobe lol. As usual he took some horrible out of the offense 3 pointers way too early in the clock, the difference being a few went in. (specifically the 4 point play one). Of course he'll look like a super hero and the hype will blow up, but IMO the best player for the entire Olmypics was by far D-Wade.

Anyway...we're the world champs/gold medalists, that's all that matters. The gold is back home!

ps, Rudy was sick and once again Gasol shrunk into a small girly man in the crunch time.

It is absolutely crucial that we start the season off playing well and winning. If we dig ourselves a whole early, I can very easily see Ricky Davis, Tim Thomas and Jason Williams quitting on us. I can see Baron not listening to a thing Dunleavey says. I can see lots of poor defensive efforts, and lots of shots with 19 left on the shot clock.

For a team with so many new players, it's hard to imagine we'll start off hot. But we might need to, because if we don't it creates that "same ol Clippers" mindset for everyone.

I believe full-heartedly in Baron as a leader, but if we're at the bottom of the division early in the season I can very easily see it turning bad and fast.

I don't mind seeing Livingston go... The fact is, he hadn't panned out even before the injury. He'd never established himself as a significant NBA player and didn't look much like he was going to. Even when healthy, he had never proven himself as anything more than a guy who would likely hang around the league and be an okay backup... He certainly hadn't shown signs of becoming a major star... If he had, the Clippers would have resigned him.

Even if he hadn't gotten hurt, his play over three years reduced him from number 4 pick with great promise, to a marginal prospect, like Gerald Green or Darius Miles and about a thousand others. A guy who looked like he had a chance, but never quite got there.

He remained intriguing as a prospect because he was young and showed flashes, but that shouldn't be confused with actual accomplishment. Compare his impact in the first few years with a Monta Ellis, or Martin in Sac...

Best case scenario, Livingston never proved he would be a worthy starting point guard... Perhaps one day he will. Doubt it though.

One thing is certain, you cant fall in love with your own players. Brand was spectacular at times, but by no means a superstar player. I feel bad about livingston, but you got to move on.

I LOVE Kobe. I dont know what happened to me... I think I realized that i never hated him, but i haded Shaq. When Shaq left, i warmed up to the Mamba. I wish ill will on the lakers, but Kobe is ok in my book.

Opposite for me I can't stand Kobe. He is great player but he is just too cocky. He has too much of an ego. But if he had signed with us a couple years back I would have taken him. I don't like him but he can flat out play.

The key to this season has got to be Thornton. I think we know what we're going to get from everyone else. But if thornton is a 20 ppg or more scorer, this team is in the running for the last spot in the playoffs.

On Kobe, I don't really see him as overly cocky. All winning players have to have some of that (Jordan, Magic, Bird). You have to have some of that killer instinct. Let's hope Thornton's got it.

Eric Gordon is going to shock the world as ROY. He slashes hard to the basket, he shoots a beuatiful jumper off curls and he can stop and pop from 3 on fast breaks. Time will tell but I think he's going to remind a lot of folks of Reggie Miller + 20 lbs of muscle.

If the draft would've happened a month into the college season Gordon would've gone second only to Beasley. With all the drama that went on at Indiana last season its a miracle he kept his head on straight.

Barry that is not a fair judgment of Ricky as a player. On all those teams there was a star player and no one else. I think in order to be competitive you have to have one star and at least one player who is close to being a star. On all those teams (with the exception of the Heat they didn't do well because of injuries) their was a star and no support. It is not Ricky's fault that he has been on a lot of bad teams. Hopefully the he will show that he is not a bad player this year and get us to the playoffs.

Oh Petey Pablo,
I'd hardly say our training staff is "fantastic". You must be Jason Powell to say something as outrageous and stupid as that. Sorry, but that's like saying Randy Woods is the best Clipper player ever.

And it's not like Ricky is signed to a five year deal (which can make even the signing of a James Posey look risky). We're renting him and JWill for one year!

Also, I believe the Clips did want Livingston back for a year and offered a guaranteed one year deal. Looks like he's holding out for other opportunities, although looks like the Suns have turned elsewhere for a backup.

Clips did a good job of signing vets to one year deals. This could be a result of the quirks of the collective bargaining agreement or Clips have decided to add more veterans vying for minutes rather than relying on rookies. Either way, I like the fact that Clips have options on the bench.

no, but it is rickys fault that every single team has gotten rid of him. shows that ricky failed in the "playing with others" category at every other stop in his career. If you think Mike Dunleavy is gonna have some miraculous championship breakthrough with this batch of single year contract headcases, then your hope is based in a fantasy land only walt disney could compete with.

If they make the playoffs this year, is that a step in the right direction? Or will you chastise MD for not winning a championship?

I never blamed Maggette for the demise of the Clippers. Nice player, but not for $10 Million. The only thing he improved every year was his sellfish attempt to up his scoring average. Maggette in a nutshell:

Now that the Clips are loaded at point guard, I wouldn't be surprised to see them go with JWill and BDavis in the backcourt at times, especially with two 7 footers manning the paint. This gives them the best passing backcourt in the game.

I don't believe Dunleavy would prefer Davis over Mobley. Mobley just gives you the all around package. If he weren't given so much responsibility on defense, he'd have a better scoring average.

Hoopsworld take on the Clips:http://www.hoopsworld.com/S...
All around, they're not so hot on Clips making the playoffs. Everyone seems hot on Portland and understandably so.

Don't remember hearing anywhere that he didn't want to be here. All I heard was that he was really pissed at Denver for trading him for nothing. If anything it will only make our games against Denver that much more interesting.

Kevin does some good analysis; however, his lack of posting leaves alot to be desired...I don't know how Henry Abbott @ TrueHoop links him so much with the lack of post he has...I can only scroll through mindless Clips fan bickering so much...

It's the doldrums of the offseason. Can't expect much posting when there's no news to analyze (besides the return of mighty Paul Davis). Mindless Clips fan bickering is all we have at this point until the preseason. And no news is probably good news at this point; just ask Portland and Golden State.

GS is going to sign Livingston. If you want to relive the clippers injury plagued seasons past just tune in to FSN Pacific. See Maggette cripple his back and livingston explode his knee or shoulder or other knee or lower back...

GM1.Lakers- They have a game the night before against Portland. Also how will Kobe be effected after surgery? Fatigue may play a role in favor in our game espcially if Bynum vs Oden lives up to the hype.

GM2.Nuggets- Carmelo will be out in our 2nd game of the season vs the Nuggets due to suspension.

GM3.@Utah- Might win if lucky.

GM4.Utah-Hopefully they still suck on the road.

I feel our only big getting a "ass whooping" out of the "BIG SEVEN GAMES OPENER" is from Houston Rockets.

I looked over their team for hours and still can't figure out a logical way that the Clippers can beat Houston. I'm a all Defense guy but this game will be in our favor if we can turn it into a run n'gun. Try to avoid the half-court sets.

I can see Baron and Al being the Clippers top scorers. Baron could find kaman in the post or run an isolation play for Thornton. Mobley being the 4th option could receive some touches from behind the arc or post up his man.

Option #1 Davis 2 Thornton 3 Kaman 4 cat
5 camby

Baron could penetrate and break down defenses and create easy buckets for his team. He could have that CP3/Chandler lob/dunk going with Camby.

I was watching a game between Denver and New York on NBA tv the other day, and it gave me a sense of things to come for LA.

Knicks try to drive in the lane ,Camby swats that trash, denver starts a fast break with andre miller, MELO,and Najara. Its 3 on 1 at the other end and 2 points for the Nuggets.

You guys are all forgetting that Eric Gordon will average an NBA record 18.67 3PT FGM per game so we will be winning all our games with a 54 point scorer on our roster. What's all this worry about the opening 7 game stretch? Gordon will have 350 some odd points by the time that stretch is over.

FireDunleavy, MD played Livingston quite a bit at a very young age. He played Ewing during the critical 3.6 seconds of the fateful Phoenix game. Thornton ended up playing a lot during the 2007-2008 season and got banged up along the way, too. It was a good, productive first season for Al. Because you are an ardent anti-MD guy, I doubt that MD could play any rookies an optimal number of minutes that you would ever agree with.

Pablo Petey, nice job on your analysis of the offense. I agree with it.

Livingston only played 30 games his rookie year. I'm not saying it's a bad thing not to play rookies. Phil Jackson doesn't like playing rookies. I'm just saying don't expect a 19 year old rookie to save the team. Kobe averaged 15, 25 min and 7,15pts his first 2 years.

Note to FireDunleavy: Livingston was hurt for all but two months and two games during his first season (the story of his sad NBA career). MD played Livingston just about the max time you could expect a coach to play a pencil-necked teenager with no jump shot.

Gordon will be 3rd string. I know livingston was injured and he did get a lot of mins, but they didn't have many options. I'm just saying don't expect much from a 19 year old rookie. I'd be surprised if he gets as many mins as livingston. And I'm guessing Baylor and Dunleavy wanted OJ Mayo, not Gordon.

I love Dunleavy's quote from above, "First and foremost, if you want to win rings, you have to be able to defend and rebound"

What the hell does he know about winning rings?? He didn't even win one as a player.

Dunleavy is the longest tenured coach in clipper history, I know thats not saying too much but give the shit a fuckin rest already before ACD goes ape shit and stabs someone in the neck with a pen.

And yes the clips played like shit last year, wow thats news to everyone here! Every good player on the team was injured at one point so what do you expect of them. If we suck we can all blame ricky davis together but until then lets bash elton brand or something.

Baron Davis can get a team in the playoffs by himself if he wants to. J rich and stephen jackson aren't exactly the best supporting cast and he did it with them and they weren't a bad team either. This new clipper lineup is one of the best we've ever had with a lot of potential so I'm pretty psyched out of my mind about it, and thats all that really matters you little sons of bitches

From all the responses i have reaad on various sites, it seems 40% of the people say that LA Clippers will still suck. I would say that 50 % are positive and believe LA can compete and will be a playoff team. I found that 5% are saying they can contend for a ring, while the last 5% dont have anything to say until the season starts.

Ladies and Gentlemen (although that may be a bit hyperbolic of me), the true Clipper team will emerge in 2010 or 2011 when:

- Gordon and Thorton will have their games in high gear

- When Kaman and Baron should still be around and productive

- When the Clips get to compete in the 2010 FA sweepstakes (hope that MD is still around then to get DTS to write more big checks)

- When the TWovles' 1st Round Draft Pick will have trade value

Until then, the Clips have put together a pretty good product on paper. If we lose games this year, the games at least won't be as boring as prior years. The Clips are doing the smart thing by keeping an eye on both the present and the future. My bet is that by 2010 the failure to sign Brand will look like a blessing.

The only way good players even get to the Clippers is by getting traded here for one of our draft picks. No free agent worth anything in this league signs here. Losing Elton meant we lost the one guy who, for all outward appearances, said he wanted to stay.

Nobody wants to come to this stinkhole. Ever. Unless its the only deal your agent has gotten.

We need a franchise player, we need to make him feel like hes invested in the team, and we need to be able to sign him past his rookie contract before any worthy player is going to look at the Clippers as a place they want to be. Not cheap out and let them sign a deal somewhere else and match em, but like step up with a max deal for a max player and not have a single regret. We've never done that. Ever. We're the model for dysfunction in the NBA. Thats something to be proud of.

So far, at least the decade and a half i've been watching, the players mark the days on their calendars to get out of here. We've never kept a decent player that we've drafted. The only Clipper i've ever heard that wanted to stay here long term was Ruben Patterson and thats because 27 other teams wouldnt sign him.

That's the impression people have of this organization. You dont mind the visit and the easy win, but you certainly dont want to call this place home. Players dread this team. Elton, in all his professionalism, projected that idea that LA was for real, we were legit, and that we could attract -and KEEP- real talent.

Greetings all. Lifelong Seattle resident and diehard Sonics fan here, who just happened to pick the right year to move away from Seattle (just started UCLA law school). After months of deliberation, I've decided that I can't do without NBA basketball, and I'm going to try to adopt the Clippers as my new team - I would rather gouge my own eyes out than cheer for LAL. My Clippers tee-shirt is in the mail, and I'm genuinely excited about the team's prospects this year. Anyway, just wanted to briefly introduce myself and say that I'm pumped to see that there's such an active Clippers blog.

elton brand liked playing here but realized that he could get more money else where. That's life in the nba, the fucking guy was injured the whole previous season and you're gonna tell me we should pay this fool 80 million to get re-injured and ride the bench for 5 more years? I think the management wised up and dumped damaged goods and maybe now we can get healthy players and try and avoid this reoccurring problem we seem to have.

BD is the franchise and is getting paid less than players like deng who suck balls. We have a lot of relatively underpaid talent that can produce, young guys who are primed to be the next superstars, and are in line to have a shot at picking up someone huge in 2010.

Attn Bongman, Kaman is not the best out there, but he is still one of the top six or seven centers in the NBA. This guy was drafted and did resign without being forced. He could have played another year to become an UFA and chose to sign a multiyear deal. Of course, as GO pointed out, BD signed as well. This all happened on MD's watch. Since you have been around the Clips for 15 years, when did the Clips ever sign a great FA or resign a top draft pick prior to MD's arrival? Maybe it's not your fault for thinking this way. I understand there is some bad weed going around.

Kaman sucks. You saw the Olympics. He's seven foot tall and has half a brain. In this league thats worth $50M and called talent or potential. If he were 6 inches shorter, hed have never been drafted.

Baron agreed to sign when Elton was still on the team. He got a better, longer term deal too which hes wanted since last offseason. If Elton was gone before that, he most likely wouldnt have agreed in the first place. What the hell is there to come to out here without Elton? We were lucky that BD agreed to the deal, but we totally botched landing Elton's plane on the contract runway, and as a result it got redirected to Philly, who looks to scare people in the East.

And in that 15 years, never have the Clippers signed a great FA in their prime or resigned a draft pick without letting another team puttin down an offer for them. Theyve bottom fed on draft picks and bunches of hope peddled to the fans, but only really delivered a decent product in 2006. Actually, 2001 was a fun season too but they werent even close to the playoffs that season.

And Dunleavy...dont even get me started. The dude lost with Magic Johnson and a stacked Lakers team. Sure it was against Jordan's Bulls, but Magic was no slouch on the court, and neither was the Lakers payroll. He lost with Scottie Pippen and a team 25M over the salary cap. He was fired from Milwaukee and replaced by the king of mediocre coaches, Chris Ford.

The guy is a career loser. Literally, his record going into the season is 573W - 625L. He loses more than half the games he coaches. Sure, hitting .478 is great in baseball but its terrible in coaching.

Bongstradamus you must think you are witty with that great baseball analogy you just made but can everyone on here agree that this fool doesn't know what the fuck he is talking about. If Kaman was 6'6 he wouldn't be a good center I'll give you that, neither would any center. Shaq would probably be pretty bad too at 6'6 i mean are you fuckin serious?

And what is this about a stacked laker team? Elden Campbell, Vlade Divac, an old ass James Worthy and AC Green isn't exactly stacked. Especially against THE BEST NBA PLAYER EVER TO PLAY THE GAME. If in your delusional world that loss was all Mike Dunleavy's fault you have serious issues. If you love EB so much please go on board this metaphorical plane you have created in that big old brain of yours and fly your dumbass to philly and spare everyone this great analysis you've provided us with. It's probably better you do stop there.

jgroove its safe to keep repeating the same old tired expert opinions. Yes we are hopeful fans. Good job for accomplishing so much with that little bit of info you provided especially the semi-pro portion like we don't get enough naysayers on here, we needed a douche like you to come and save us from our misguided hopes of making 8th seed against the mighty nuggets, the furious blazers who are just sprouting pubes, and the newly revamped warriors with former clipper badass corey maggette. We are so myopic (yup doche is pretty apt a word) we might as well just pack it in now, guess you're right.

Whoa Clipfan, I wasn't saying EVERYONE on this board was being myopic. I was taking the devil's advocate point of view and opening the question up to the group. Clearly, you don't think so.

Personally, I don't have much faith in the Warriors to have a better record and make the playoffs, but will the Clips be significantly improved to pass Portland or Denver? That remains to be seen.

I love that BDavis is here, but as time has passed I'm concerned about Camby and Kaman being able to work together. Thorton is going to be a very good pro this year, but RDavis is a cancer every where he's been and a horrible signing. The fact he's 5 feet of this team's locker room scares the living bejesus out of me. Either you're a winner or you're not and RDavis is not a winner.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for .500 and bitterly hoping the 76ers don't make the playoffs.

I consider myself a pretty objective observer, since I just started following the Clips. I think it's entirely reasonable to hope for at least a .500 record and the 8 seed. On paper, the Clippers have one of the deepest, most talented teams in the West. Certainly their roster is just as stacked as the one that made a deep run in '06. The two vital concerns are clearly health (especially with BD and Camby's history) and chemistry (Ricky Davis and Jason Williams are each good for -3 wins per year). If all the cards fall right, this team could win 45-50 games this year and continue to improve as Thornton and Gordon progress.

FD if you mean we don't have a chance at the championship until 2010 I agree. But that could be changed if we take advantage of our contracts that expire in 2010. Mobley, Thomas and Camby's contracts all expire in 2010. As time goes on their contracts will become valuable trade bait. Or we can play it safe and try and sign a super star. Either way I think we could come into the 2010-2011 season as championship contenders. But I still have high hope that we can at least make the playoffs in at least one of the two seasons before 2010.

with steve blake at point guard i like my chances against the blazers, even with greg oden at center who could easily get re-injured facing the big dudes in the west. the nuggets are shit, they don't stand a fuckin chance in hell of winning anything next year unless they trade for a center with some talent.

the rockets really piss me off by getting artest because i was looking forward to seeing mcgrady getting his ass beat after that little cut throat motion he did to the crowd last season on a blow out loss game. I'm sure most on here remember that one.

Ricky davis gets a lot of shit and likes to party so I've heard. I doubt that will quit in LA but if he throws one of these down on Mcgrady's ass he'll have paid his dues in my book.

You guys have no idea how good it feels to just talk about hoops. I used to be one of the biggest Sonics fans in the world, and after 2 years of b*tching about Clay Bennett and David Stern's conspiracy to hijack the Sonics, it's so refreshing to actually discuss what happens ON the court. I've already got Jan 23rd circled on my calendar (the Oklahoma City Thieves visit LAC).

I've been on one of the youngest teams and one of the loest paying teams. Its time to be relevent and start winning.

Ouch..

I am over the EB thing now and even though he hurt us all, I can understand his fustration being with LA. He said it at the end of 06-07 when the Clippers lost to the Kings and Hornets at the end of that season and missed the playoffs. They needed to be 42-40 but finished 40-42.

Chris Wilcox the former Clipper is now a Thundee or is it a thunder? What is the singular for Thunder? I guess the only consolation is the Midwest farmers daughters the players get meet when they go cow tipping on weekends.

Paying $95 for a ticket and selling it for $20 isn't worth it. Yeah, Celtics/Lakers/Cavs will sell for $100, but those are only a few games.

If I could sell the games for 75% of what I pay for it, then it would be worth it. I liked the seats and the other season ticket holders around me, and it'd be worth a little extra money to keep the seats/senority.

After the Brand fiasco, I have little faith that the Clippers will get things right in 2010-11. I hope they do, but I'm not putting down 8k on tickets.

I believe the Spurs payroll is around $59 million and most experts would say they're a pretty good team.
I've always believed that Dunleavy has tried to follow the Popovich approach or a similar philosophy. Grab a couple of star players and surround them with role players and defend. I'm not going to go into what could have been if not for injuries, etc., but I'm for sticking with the plan. The flexibility with this approach was especially evident this off-season.

I think it's pretty fair to say the Clippers have good talent for the small payroll they are committed to. A little flexibility never hurt anybody. Bayleavy has built a very efficient team. I'd be the first to jump all over the Clippers for not spending more money, but I really can't say I disagree with how they've built their team this summer.

Spurs are at 63.5 + Finley's contract. Players are also will to play for the Spurs for a little less. They also don't have bad contracts like Mobley and TT.

Now look at average ticket price, Clippers are #11. Also take into account that the Staples Center holds and draws more attendance than most teams and you can bump the Clippers up a few more notches.http://www.sportsbusinessda...

It's probably to late to do anything now for the Clippers and I can't suggest anyone they should sign, but I'm not gonna keep stuffing Sterling's pocket.

Zach Randolph is a bad contract. Larry Hughes is a bad contract. Thomas and Mobley are overpaid, but do not deserve the label of being bad contracts. Teams with higher payrolls than the Clippers have far made far more questionable investments than the Clippers did with Mobley and TT.

I suppose you would rather the Clips keep a guy like Jaric three years ago so that the Clippers would have an extra $7 million on the books this year. That way, you would know the Clippers are trying because they are spending more. Wake up. This is the cap era. This isn't baseball where you throw millions around with no reprecussions. Too bad you won't be around to see what I'm talking about since you have no more tickets.

I advise everybody to look up the term "J Curve" on wikipedia. Clippers are on the rise back up. Believe it or not.

I also don't know how you can actually say you don't want to stuff Sterling's pockets when he gave Dunleavy every penny the CBA allowed him to spend to make this team competitive. I'm so sick of reading your mindless posts. BTW, when B Diddy is turning the Clippers into the most entertaining show in Los Angeles in two months, Clippers tickets are going to be pretty damn easy to sell. I guess research on ticket prices and arena seating can't teach you educated speculation.

I must admit I was a big Mobely and TT trade guy for some guys like JJ, Barbosa, K.Martin and etc.

But one thing I don't believe Mobley is that much overpaid. Mobley is a strong overall player. There are not that many SG that do what Mobley does defend bigger players, post-up, attack the basket, etc. I wouldn't trade Mobley for a all scorer type player with nothing to back it up with. I always figured if we could get a younger player with the same overall talent why not, if not keep him.

The whole thing with Mobley is he plays his best when motivated. To be honest not to much motivation before the offseason. I believe Mobley may have a strong year and show some life and become a serious threat. Mobley this season = Ray Allen. If this new team with Baron Davis does not get Mobley going nothing will.

TT is a strong role player too... when he wants to be. Espcially with Novak stalking his mintues.

Cat had his best season as a Clipper in 05-06. He is geting a little older but can still produce.

In the begining of the 06-07 season , LA looked very good. Every one played their roles well. Cassell ran the offense, Brand did his job,they were in sync. I recall the 5th game or so of that season when they played the Hornets. CP3,Peja,Chandler,West were already on the team and LA owned them. Cassell bothered paul and never let him get into his flow. Tim Thomas killed them making timely threes to kill their spirits.
My point from all of that is that TT is a role player and can produce on that paltform.

We have a new team now and I have my HD plus dvr ready for every game. Cant wait ...

Hope you guys prove me wrong. I just happen to agree with the ESPN experts in that article.
26th in payroll, 11th in ticket price says a lot though.
TT and Mobley are just bad not terrible and they have their uses. But they need to make up for it by spending more.
They're great off the bench, but they shouldn't be starting.

Cat had his best season as a Clipper in 05-06. He is geting a little older but can still produce.

In the begining of the 06-07 season , LA looked very good. Every one played their roles well. Cassell ran the offense, Brand did his job,they were in sync. I recall the 5th game or so of that season when they played the Hornets. CP3,Peja,Chandler,West were already on the team and LA owned them. Cassell bothered paul and never let him get into his flow. Tim Thomas killed them making timely threes to kill their spirits.
My point from all of that is that TT is a role player and can produce on that paltform.